Change a few habits and improve your grades

[Steve]

Ten suggestions

[Chelsea & Brandon]

7. Check your Work.Everyone makes mistakes, but it’s better if you catch them rather than the teachers. Take the time to go over your work. And remember, four eyes are better than two, so get a parent or oldersiblingto review it as well. (Oops, I just caught atypothere myself.)8.Procrastination= Bad.This is also mentioned in number 3, but it’s worth repeating. Don’t wait until the last minute to do your assignment. Rushed work issloppy (poor) work.9. Reward yourself.Youworked hard, and now it’s time for a little Xbox or a bowl of chocolate-peanut butter ice cream. Nothing like motivation to get you focused onyour homework. Tell your parents, “Hey, I’ve earned it.” Show them your masterpiece, and thenbask inthe praise and admiration.10. Eat yourWheaties.As our Anonymous Teacher advises, “Getting enough sleep, eating healthy food, and drinking lots of water can help kids stay focused in their classes, so that their homework assignment will make more sense.”Ok, there’s your prescription for success. Read it, memorize it, live it. And remember to thank me when yourglowingreport card comes out.

[Traditional Chinese Translation]

[More Information]

[Ashley & Ken]

: Hi, Ashley.A: Hi, Ken.K: There’s a dog sitting on the front steps of the library. I wonder if it’s lost.A: Really? Is it a white husky?K: No. it’s a black puddle.A: Oh. Well, if you see a white husky be sure to call this number. She is the owner and she is offering a one hundred dollar reward to whoever finds her dog.K: A hundred dollars and an award?A: No, not an award, a reward.K: A reward? How is that different from an award?A: Good question. A reward is something you get for something good you’ve done. So the one hundred dollars is the reward.K: Oh, so it’s not like getting a trophy.A: No, that’s an award which is something that recognizes something that someone has done. A soldier maybe awarded a medal for courage. The OSCAR figurine is an award for excellence in film making.K: So are rewards always an amount of money?A: No. A reward can be practically anything. A child might be rewarded with a movie for cleaning up his room.K: Oh, so rewards are not as formal.A: Exactly. Rewards are more private and more personal.K: Okay. What about using award as a verb? It means to give an award to someone, right?A: Not necessarily. To award simply means to present or give, and it is usually done in public. But you don’t always have to award someone an award. A court, for instance, might award a mother custody of a child. A company might be awarded a business contract.K: So, there is still some kind of competition involved.A: You got it.K: Hey, it that a white husky out there?A: Where?K: It’s right there on the lawnA: Oh. Hey, maybe. I should check it out.

procrastination (n) 延遲,拖延The boss asked us to put our plan into action immediately and without procrastination.老闆讓我們立即而且毫不拖延地將計劃付諸於行動。Procrastination will decrease your ability to compete in the job market.拖延會減弱你在職場上的競爭力。

1.to delay doing something that you should do, usually because you do not want to do it 拖延；耽擱verb V formal disapproving

People were dying of starvation while governments procrastinated. 飢民正掙扎在死亡線上，而政府行動卻拖拖拉拉。

bask (v) 沉浸,沐浴 (in)The winners held their trophies to the crowd, basking in their moment of glory.衛冕者向著群眾舉起獎盃，沉浸在他們榮耀的時光中。You can see tourists basking in the sun on the beautiful sandy beach.你可以在這個美麗的沙灘上看到遊客們沐浴在陽光之中。glowing (adj) 熱情盛讚的,熱烈的The glowing comments from the audience really encouraged the cast of the show.觀眾熱烈的好評真的鼓勵了演出的全體人員。The reporter’s glowing account of the concert boosted the show’s ticket sales the next night.記者對這個演唱會的盛讚刺激了這場演唱會第二天晚上的票房。

typo/ˈtaɪpəʊ/ DJ/-poʊ/ DJ US/’taɪpo/ KK US

a small mistake in a typed or printed text 打字（或排印）文稿的小錯誤 noun informal

Irregular: -os plural

make sense

1.to have a meaning that you can easily understand 有道理；有意義；講得通

This sentence doesn’t make sense. 這個句子不通。

2.to be a sensible thing to do 是明智的；合乎情理

It makes sense to buy the most up-to-date version. 買最新的版本是明智的。

3.to be easy to understand or explain 表述清楚；易於理解；道理明顯

John wasn’t making much sense on the phone. 約翰在電話上說得不大清楚。

Who would send me all these flowers? It makes no sense. 誰會給我送這麼多花呢？真不可思議。